Fusion voting

New York is one of eight states that have "electoral fusion" -- which allows more than one political party to support a common candidate. This creates a situation where one candidate will appear multiple times on the same ballot, for the same position. Electoral fusion was once widespread across the United States, but is now commonly practiced only in New York.

Opponents of fusion voting argue that the process results in dealmarking to ensure that patronage is rampant.[4] Proponents maintain that fusion voting allows for minor parties to actually make a difference during the election, allowing voters the opportunity to vote for a minority party platform but still affect the general election result.[5]

Candidates appearing in the general election will be listed below with colored dots corresponding to any party they will represent on the ballot.

Candidates

Note: Election results were added on election night as races were called. Vote totals were added after official election results had been certified. For more information about Ballotpedia's election coverage plan, click here. If you find any errors in this list, please email: Geoff Pallay.

Race background

General election

Competitiveness

New York's 18th is considered to be Leaning Republican according to the New York Times race ratings. Republican incumbent Nan Hayworth is challenged by Sean Maloney (D). Democrats have made her a top target in this year's election. [15]

Using the Federal Election Commission's October Quarterly campaign finance filings, the Brennan Center for Justice at The New York University School of Law published a report on October 22nd focusing on the 25 House races rated most competitive by The Cook Political Report, including the race for New York's 18th. The report examines the relative spending presence of non-candidate groups, candidates, and small donors in these races - "which will likely determine which party will control the House." [16]

Incumbent Nan Hayworth has raised more money in the NY House election than her opponent, a trend shared by 13 other Republicans in contested House races in 2012. She has raised $2.2 million through June 30th, more than double the $738,382 she raised two years ago at this time. She has $1.5 million in the bank, compared to $775,000 four years ago. Her opponent, Sean Maloney in comparison has $264,364 in the bank and raised $675,771 through June 30th. Timothy Persico, Maloney’s campaign manager, alleges Hayworth is raising her money through special interests-“PACS and corporate lobbyists have sent over a million dollars to Congresswoman Hayworth because she’s worth every penny.”[18]

New York's 18th District has been included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue List," which identifies districts that the organization has specifically targeted to flip from Republican to Democratic control.[19]

A field of five Democrats sought their party's nod in the June 26 primary.

According to The New York Times, cardiologist and Cortlandt town council member[21]Rich Becker and former Bill Clinton aide Sean Maloney were the frontrunners. The Times endorsed Becker, based on the paper's concerns about Maloney's handling of an investigation of Eliot Spitzer.[22] Maloney, unsurprisingly, gained the endorsement of his former boss, Bill Clinton,[22] along with the nod from major unions in the state, including the New York State United Teachers, the state AFL-CIO, and some large SEIU locals.[23]

Maloney stressed his endorsements, as well as his fundraising advantage over the rest of the Democratic candidates -- the funding, he says, will be necessary to unseat Hayworth in the general. Alexander, on the other hand, said that money will pour in to whoever opposes Hayworth.[9]

Independence Ticket

Hayworth has been removed from the Independence ticket by the state appeals court, upholding a ruling by the state Supreme Court that only the names on her petition that were signed were valid. The names printed on the petition were not counted and as a result, Hayworth did not have enough signatures to remain on the Independence ticket. In 2010, she received 5,400 Independence votes. The loss of the Independence votes in the 2012 election is expected to tighten the race.[26]

"Party advantage" is the percentage gap between the two major parties in registered voters. "Change in advantage" is the spread in difference of party advantage between 2010 and 2012 based on the congressional district number only.

District partisanship

FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012 study

In 2012, FairVote did a study on partisanship in the congressional districts, giving each a percentage ranking (D/R) based on the new 2012 maps and comparing that to the old 2010 maps. New York's 18th District became more balanced because of redistricting.[32]